A project to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War has launched in Upton .
The Friends of the Countess of Chester Country Park, the Land Trust and the community in Upton are working in partnership to deliver ‘Fallen for the Fallen’.
A cedar tree in the area which has come to the end of its life will be felled to help remember those who fell or suffered during the war.
Paul Edwards, a local wood carver, will use the cedar tree to create a poppy trail leading from the War Memorial in Upton into the country park, passing by the Life for a Life Memorial Forest, to a carved wooden bench in the centre of the park.
The Friends of the Countess of Chester Country Park are currently in discussion with the National Trust at Chirk Castle where a similar cedar tree, which fell there in 2014, was used to create a bench to commemorate the beginning of the war. The hope is that a link can be forged between the two memorials.
Describing some of the detail of the project, Andy Scargill from the Friends group said: “Each of the carved poppies along the trail will represent two or more of the soldiers whose names appear on the Upton War Memorial and local school children will work with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) to sow wild flowers, including poppies, around each one.
“The children will also work with Julie Mitchell our town crier and local artist to create a mural which will represent and symbolise the learning journey the community has made reflecting upon World War One, the journey from the War Memorial to the Country Park and features the soldiers whose names are on the War Memorial. The mural will be displayed in a prominent local site to enable the community and visitors to see, and reflect upon, the children’s work.”
Organisers are hoping that people will be able to follow the trail to the memorial bench following a service at the Upton War Memorial on Remembrance Day. The poppies and bench will then remain in place as a permanent reminder of the human cost of war and a sign of hope for a peaceful future.
The Friends are grateful for the support from Upton councillor Jill Houlbrook who is a member of the group and has provided practical resources to help deliver the project.
Cllr Houlbrook said: “Providing a means of helping local people, and others, remember something which impacted massively on their community all those years ago has been on my mind for some time. I am pleased therefore to be part of this project, particularly as it also involves the Country Park which is now such an important part of Upton.”
The Friends are also grateful to the many other people who have helped them create what they believe will play an important part in how Chester remembers Armistice Day in this special centenary year.
